STUDY OF KEYSTONE SPECIES AND ASSOCIATES IN AGASTYAMALAI BIOSPHERE RESERVE, WESTERN GHATS, KERALA

Funding Agency: Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India

The forests of the Western Ghats are one of the best representatives of non-equatorial tropical evergreen forests in the world. With an area of only 5 % of the country’s total land area, the Western Ghats supports about 27 % (more than 4000) of country’s total plant species. Endemism is very high in the area and nearly 63 % of India’s arborescent evergreen taxa are endemic to the Western Ghats (Ramesh and Pascal 1991). The high levels of biodiversity and endemism have earned the area the status of biodiversity hotspots of the world. Primary forests of the Western Ghats are disappearing at an alarming rate due to anthropogenic pressure. Extensive deforestation in the area for the last two centuries had resulted in the large-scale loss of forest cover in the region. The human population in and around the area is more than 60 million and a large number of domestic cattle populations also depend directly or indirectly on the forest. Many pristine habitats have been reduced to small fragments and only 7.5 % of the original forest cover of the Western Ghats stands in a more or less pristine state. The loss of tropical forests comes at a time when our knowledge of their structure and dynamics is still inadequate.

The Agasthyamalai region (2000km2) located at the southern end of Western Ghats is known for its high species diversity, harbouring 2000 flowering plant species with 7.5 % endemism. The region is also under high biotic pressure and is getting degraded day by day. Government of India constituted the area of Agasthyamalai region located in Kerala State as a ‘Biosphere Reserve’ in November 2001 in order to conserve the unique biodiversity of the area and to improve the livelihood status of people living in and around the region. An understanding of processes in the forest ecosystem is fundamental to the sustainable management of the bio-resources. Such an understanding is necessary for assessment of potential impacts, the amelioration of effects of disturbance, optimizing the productivity and rehabilitation of degraded ecosystems. Although many studies on floral and faunal diversities were carried out in India, very little research has done on inter relation between flora and fauna in Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve. The present project envisages studying the details of keystone species in Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve in Kerala.